Kirk Ferentz names Iowa’s biggest area of improvement entering 2023

Kirk Ferentz has Iowa clicking, riding a wave of 10 straight winning seasons into 2023. Unfortunately, an 8-5 record a season ago still left something to be desired.

The defense in Iowa City did the heavy lifting for the team all season long, finishing 2nd in the country with 13.3 points allowed per game. Meanwhile, the offense was among the worst in the country with 17.7 points per game.

While the quarterback play drew a lot of the attention last season, the work of Iowa’s offensive front was also not up to the standard Hawkeye fans are used to seeing. In fact, Ferentz labeled the offensive line as Iowa’s biggest area of improvement entering the season.

“I think our biggest one single area of improvement is upfront on the offense. The last few years, it’s no secret we just haven’t been maybe as stout and as physical as we like to be,” said Ferentz during an interview with the Big Ten Network. “And it’s ironic, you have the best center in the country in Tyler Linderbaum two years ago. But outside of that, we just haven’t had — we’ve had some injuries, some unusual circumstances but I think right now, the first time in a couple of years we have good competition and I think we have a bunch of guys that are a little more mature and a little more game-ready. Instead of just going out there to survive, maybe be able to execute the way we hope to.”

While Wisconsin was the preseason pick in the B1G West and Iowa is not high on the Big Ten Championship odds, a much-improved offensive line would have a major impact this fall. A new quarterback in Cade McNamara — provided he’s fully healthy — and a strong offensive line could get the Hawkeyes back to Indianapolis and a conference title game.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.